Poultry plucker



POULTRY PLUCKER Filed July lo, 1946 m A 7' TIO/PNE V mmm JL C.LANZISEWLM POULTRY PLUCKER Jaim M 3 Sheets-Sheet'. 3

Filed. July' l5, 1946 NVENTOR.

(g, 41 A7.7770/3/VE1V Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEClaims. 1

This invention relates to butchering, particularly the butchering offeathered creatures, and especially to the plucking of featheredcreatures, such as birds, as poultry and fowl, as chickens, ducks, geeseand turkeys.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a device by whichfeathered creatures, such as poultry may be cleaned of all theirfeathers, that is, plucked whether presently slaughtered or moreremotely slaughtered.

A further object of the invention is the production of a device of thetype specified by which plucking may be accomplished along a given zoneof the body of a fowl quickly by a simple straight line motion of thefowl in one direction.

A further object of the invention is the production of a device of thetype specified by which a fowl is plucked and the plucked feathers arere- 'moved from the zone of action of the operator immediately.

A further object of the invention is the production of a device of thetype specied by which plucking of a fowl may be accomplished withouttearing the skin of the fowl.

A further object of the invention is the production of a device of thetype specied which will be substantially noiseless in operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description of theparticular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the inventionprogresses and the novel features will be particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail and the particular physicalembodiment selected to illustrate the invention, reference will be hadto the accompanying drawings and the several views thereon, in whichlike characters of reference designate like parts throughout the severalviews, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational View, with some parts insection to more fully show the construction, of a machine embodying myinvention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the machineembodying my invention; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary crosssectional view of the device as shown by Fig. 1 on the plane indicatedby the line III-III; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of aportion of the machine drawn to a larger scale than that in Fig. 2 andwith some parts broken away to more clearly show some of the internalconstruction; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view ofthe device as shown by Fig. 3 on the plane indicated by the line V-V ofFig. 3; Fig. 6 is a view of one side of a spring actuator used in mydevice; Fig. 7 is a face view of the other side of a spring actuatorused in my device; Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view illustrating thecross section of material used for forming a spring used in myinvention; Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view illustrating another form ofmaterial used in making a spring as used in my invention.

Generally speaking, a source of motive power I drives a shaft 2 whichrotates feather seizing devices positioned behind a grid 3. If a fowl isgrasped adjacent the feet and moved upwardly in front of the grid 3 in astraight line, feathers will be removed from the fowl in a certain zoneand all of the feathers may be removed by rotating the fowl on avertical axis and passing is vertically up in front of and close to thegrid 3.

The shaft 2 is shown in Fig. 3. It is supported in suitable bearings, as4 and 5, positioned in the frame I5. The shaft is prevented fromlongitudinal movement in any suitable or appropriate manner, as byforming shoulders at 'i and B, and positioning the collar 9 thereonwhich is pinned to the shaft by a pin Ill.

Two identical, but reversely arranged, spring actuators I I and I2 arepositioned on the shaft 2. These actuators each have a somewhatelliptical oriiice therethrough, as I3. This orice is such that thespring actuator touches the shaft at the extremities of one diameter,but is spaced from the shaft at two diametrically opposite points on thediameter at a right angle to the first mentioned diameter. Each springactuator is attached to the shaft by a pin, as I4, which passes throughthe shaft through an orifice, as I5, therein and is seated in a throughbore, as I6, formed in the spring actuator. The pin I4 is held inposition by a pin, as I'I.

Each of the spring actuators has an oscillator part attached thereto inany suitable or appropriate manner, the preferred manner being to formlugs, as i8 and I, on one face of the actuator, orifice these lugs, asat 2D and 2 I, and place ia pin, as 22, therein which bears a roller, as23.

Roller 23 is positioned to abut against a suitable oscillating means,such as a cam 24. This cam is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and has a lowerface 25 and an upper face 26 connected by a sloping face 21. the highpoint of the camcenters about on the vertical center of the grid 3, asshown in Fig. 2. The cams are attached to the frame E by screws, as 28,shown in section in Fig. 3 and in elevation in Fig. 5. The screws 28pass through orifices, as 29, in the frame 6 and these orifices are madeas slotsA so that the cam may be adjusted rota- The cam is positioned sothat 'afioaaas 3 tively about the axis of the shaft 2 so as to positionit accurately at the position desired.

Between the spring actuators is positioned a helically wound spring 3i),best shown in Fig. 3. The end convolutions of the spring rest on theperipheries of the spring actuators. They may be attached in anysuitable or appropriate manner as by welding to the actuators, or,preferably by clamping thereto by spring clamps as 3|, which engageseveral convolutions of the spring 3G and also engage each face of aspring actuator, as at 32 and 33. Preferably spring clamps 3l haveaprotruding portion 34 which seats in a cavity 35 in one face of aspring actuator and are held in place on the other' face by a screw 36screw-threaded into a screw-threaded orice 3l formed in thespring'actuator. I' prefer to use about three of these spring clamps .asbest shown in Figs. 6 and 7 When the shaft 2 is rotated it carries thepins I4 with it and so causes the spring actuators il :and l2Y torotate. As the spring actuators l l and l2 rotate, the rollers 23 engagethe cams 24 and :are oscillated back and forth so that the springactuators are oscillated back and forth as they rotate. This oscillationcauses the convolutions of the spring 35i to, at times, be separated onIone side of the. shaft 2 and to be brought closertogether on the otherside, all as clearly illustrated in Fig. 8. the convolutions of thespring adjacent the grid 3 start to approach each other as they pass thegrid 3, beginning at the top and rotating downwardly in front of thegrid 3. The maximum approach of the convolutions is caused to extendfrom a point in the revolution of the shaft 2 and the spring 3Q from adesired point somewhat above the vertical center line of grid 3 to aboutthe same distance below the center line, that is through a predeterminedangular rotation of shaft 2, so that if a fowl is. held with its legspointing vertically upward and is pressed against the grid 3 and drawnupwardly while being pressed against the grid t, the feathers protrudingthrough the grid 3 will be engaged and grasped by adjacent convolutionsof the spring 30 and plucked from the fowl.

In order to insure that the feathers will protrude through the grid 3 inposition to be grasped by the. convolutions of spring 30, I provide anexhaust fan 38, as indicated in Fig. l, which connects, with theinterior of frame 5, draws air through grid 3 and exhausts through duct3E? into a convenient receptacle di?.

As best shown in Fig. 3', the grid wires 5', are preferably spaced aboutess of an inch apart and preferably are positioned about T3.; of an inchfrom the center line of the squeezed together convolutions of the spring3Q. soA that even the smallest pin feathers projecting through the grid3 may be seized, held and removed by the spring, 3U. In order that thesevery fine feathers may be seized and removed, I provide my dimensionssuch that the convolutions of the spring Si! when closest. together infront of the grid 3 will only be separated by about 0.002 of'an inch.

The spring 35i is illustrated in Fig. 3` as being formed of wire roundin cross section. This operates, quite well, but in Fig. 8' I haveillustrated another form of wire which is. somewhat oblong or ellipticalin cross section, and' in Fig.v 9 I have illustratedl a Wire` which incross section is right angled at the corners being, either square orrectangular. The wire of Fig. 9 probably exercises the surest'grip on afeather.

The cams are so placed that b The motor I is used to drive the shaft 2by' the belt drive 4I and the exhaust fan 38 by means of gears as 42 and43.

The device as hereinbefore described may be driven at a very high speed,say 1000 revolutions per minute without undue vibration or noise so thatit is suitable for use in retail establishments where unplucked fowl aresold and dry plucked on the premises., The waste is easily taken care ofby receptacles 40 which maybe removed when filled and replaced by afresh receptacle which are somewhat like the ordinary dust-collectingbag on'an ordinary household vacuum cleaner or conventionally usedburlap bag.

The machine is very ecient in removing feathers because when a featheris grasped by the spring 30 it is pulled downwardly for perhaps onehalfan inch while the flesh surrounding the feather is sustained by restingagainst the bars of the grid 31 so that the suddenv pull nic-elydislzodges the feather without tearing the flesh of the fowl.. A yAlthough I have particularly described one particular physicalembodiment of my invention, nevertheless, I desire to: have: itunderstood that the formv selected is merelyY illustrati-ve and. doesnot` exhaust the possible physical embodiments` of the idea.` of means.underlying. my invention'.

What I claim as new and desire to. secure by Letters Patent isc.

1; A device; for pluclring, feathers. from feathehearingV animals,including., in combination: a casing, said. casing formed. with an`opening; a grid positioned. over the opening.; means for causing a, owof. air through the opening. past. the grid; a receptacle into which.the current of air passes;4 aI helical spring positioned within,thecasing.. closely adjacent the grid; meansto rotate.- the helicalspring on its longitudinal. axis; andl meansVA to. causethe.convolutions. of the, spring to approach closelyone, anc-ther in the,portion` passing, thev grid a-nd. to. recede from one. another at aposition about 180 therefrom whereby afowlpresented to thev grid mayhave its. feathers drawn into.v the casing, seizedsby the helical springand withdrawn` from thef fowlj.. Y

2'., A- device fory pluck-ing. feathers from featherbearing. animals,including, in combination: a. shaft mountedv for, rotation;` means. for.driving-v theshaft;A a. helically coiled wire.; means. for at` tachingthe ends of the wire totheshaft so that the wire. willv rotatev inunison` withv the shaft;

means for compressingvv convolutionsofA the helix,

during a predetermined angularA portion. of the.

rotation. while simultaneously separating the.

convolutions at 13.0 therefrom,.a casing enclosing. the said means. and.the. helix, said casing formed with an opening; a grid positioned overythe opening of. thecasing,` andV with its vertical center.` midway. of.the. said. angular portion in which. the convolutions. of the. helix.are compressedand means tocreate an air draft throughl thegridland thehelixwhereby a fowl may be pre.- sented'. to, the. gridand the feathersthereon be*- whichI the. shaft may pass, rwhich..orifice is-of: suchdimensions that eacnmember may osoillate'relatively to. the. shaft;pi-ns, one. fon each' ofY said members, each= of whichpins passesIthrough the:

shaft and into a member forming an oscillation amazes pivot for themember; a helically wound spring surrounding the shaft and extendingbetween the said members and attached to each member; means foroscillating the said members as the shaft rotates whereby theconvolutions of the spring on one side thereof are brought clo'setogether during a predetermined angular portion of the rotation of theshaft, a grid positioned closely adjacent the portion of travel of Y thespring in which the convolutions are compressed and means for creating adraft of air over" the grid and through the spring whereby afowlpresented to the grid may have its feathers plucked by reason oftheir being projected throughV the grid by the draft of air and beingseized by the compressed convolutions of the spring.

4. A device for plucking feathers from featherbearing animals,including, in combination: a helical spring formed of convolutions,means to rotate the spring and means including cams to compress thespring on one side and to open it on the other and means causing thefeathers of a fowl held adjacent to the rotating spring to be projectedbetween the spring convolutions whreby they are seized by the spring andplucked from the fowl.

5. A device for .plucking feathers from featherbearing animals,including, in combination: a casing formed with an opening; a gridcvering the opening; bearings supported by the casing; a shaft journaledin the bearings for rotation; a cam surrounding the shaft on one side ofthe casing and a cam surrounding the shaft on the other side of thecasing; an actuator, saidy actuator formed with a central, somewhatoblong, orifice positioned on the shaft adjacent one of the cams; a pinpassed through the shaft and into the actuator whereby the actuatorrotates with the shaft and may oscillate by reason of the oblong orificetherein, said actuator formed with a protuberance upon one side thereofpositioned to cooperate with the adjacent cam whereby, as the actuatorrotates, it is oscillated; another actuator spaced from the firstactuator and positioned adjacent the cam on the other side of thecasing, said second actuator also formed with an oblong orificetherethrough receiving the shaft and a pin passingrthrough the shaft andinto the actuator whereby the actuator is driven by the shaft andmayfoscillate by reason of the oblong orifice therein," said secondactuator lia-ving a protuberance thereon positioned to operate with theadjacent cam whereby the actuator is oscillated as the shaft rotates;wire in the form of a helix surrounding the shaft and extending from oneactuator to the other actuator and having its ends attached to theactuators whereby when the actuators are forced toward each other at oneside by the adjacent cams, convolutions of the helically Wound wire arecaused to close-ly approach one another during the course of therotation as determined by the shape of the cams, said convolutions whenclosely compressed together lying closely adjacent to said grid andmeans for causing a draft of air through the grid and over the helicallywound wire whereby feathers on a fowl presented to the grid are drawnthrough the grid and seized by the closely spaced convolutions of thehelically wound wire and pulled from the fowl.

JOSEPH C. LANZISERA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,791,843 Reiss Feb. 10, 19311,875,980 Bingham Sept. 6, 1932 2,206,731 Schlicksupp July 2, 1940

